"I value soft
and well-balanced riding
and admire riders who
communicate genuinely with their horses.
Horses stay content when
they aren’t
put in situations they aren’t ready for.
A good rider is always a good
horsemanand like in any sport a good competitor has to be
mentally strong in the competition ring”

NINA

The International Finn

As
long as I can remember I have loved horses.

I followed my mum’s passion
of horses and I am still following that road. I have spent a lot of
time with these beautiful animals doing a lot of different activities
with them.

I have learned a lot just spending time with horses and I am
learning more every day.

Grew Up

I grew up with my mum in Helsinki, the capital
city of Finland. I started my riding career in a riding school and soon
spent all the free time at the stables.

We never had an own horse but I
was lucky enough to find some private owned horses which I rode and even
competed in the small local shows.

Christophers stables times

I was 14 years old when I did a 2 weeks
intership at a famous finnish show jumping rider Christopher
Wegelius. There I got the opportunity to ride real show jumping horses.
Christopher liked the way I rode and offered me the possibility to ride
his horses under his supervising.

The next 4 years I spent all the hours
after school and the holidays at Christophers stables. I learned a lot
about riding and show jumping during those years. I spent hours watching
videos of different high level show jumping events and I was dreaming
to get the opportunity to ride on those famous grounds myself.

From Finland to...

I was 19 years old when I left Finland and
started to work as a rider in a big trading stable in Belgium. The years
I worked at Stephex Stables gave me a lot more than I could ever have
dreamed of. I started as the nr 3 rider of the stables and slowly with a
lot of work earned the title to be the nr 1 rider. Six years after I
left Finland I was living my dream!

Between 2009–2012 I rode many
international victories and good placings all over Europe. In those
years I was in the top 100 of the FEI (Federation Equestre
Internationale) world ranking list and was the highest ranked Finn ever
with the 46th place. For 3 years in a row I was by far the
most successful finnish show jumping rider. I got to know many excellent
horse people, among them Eric Lamaze and Trevor Coyle who have had a
huge influence on my career.

March 2012 to own company

It was a shock for many people in March 2012
when they heard that I had decided to leave Stephex and start an own
company with my Canadian companion Alexander Rohling. Only my
family and closest friends understood me without any questions and
supported me with the hard decision. They knew that I had been planning
the next step for quite some time.

Now

Now almost a year after leaving Stephex I can
say that the decision was right and made in the right moment. Our
company Finca-Horses (the name comes from our nationalitys) offers high
standard services in horse sport for both horses and riders.

My own goal
is still in the top sport.

To get to the top of the sport and to stay
there, a rider needs a very good management, the best team and good
horses.

I know what it takes to get there and I know how it feels to
win.

Now I need some luck to find the right supporters to be with me and
my team on the way back to the top and to be with us to celebrate the
beautiful moments horses can offer us.